Thursday, June 14, 2007

NBA Finals: "Duncan Dynasty" continues. Is the day of Game 4 too early to crown the Spurs as champs? Please. Even if the Cavs win tonight, everyone knows this thing is over. I'd guess most fans simply WANT it to be over -- euthanizing the lamest NBA season anyone can remember.

So: Where does this dynasty rank among the various multiple-title champs of the last 30 years? I have a stand-alone post dedicated to it, coming later this morning. But I didn't want 400 words on one subject to get in the way of a good a.m. Quickie. (Hint: No. 2)

Selig to suspend Giambi? It's possible, if Giambi doesn't talk with George Mitchell. Of course, given that Giambi is on the DL for the foreseeable future, isn't a suspension just a gesture for the sake of making one? Yes, it tars Giambi's career.

U.S. Open: Obviously, I'm taking Tiger. Why? On Father's Day weekend, he'll be inspired by the impending birth of his son next month. (Can someone at Nike please put the new "Baby Woods" TV ad on YouTube so I can link to it?) (Update: Try this link, user ID: nike, password: news. It's very sweet and obviously clever. It still seems like a good candidate to be YouTubed.)

MLB Stud, Pitcher: John Lackey, who became MLB's first 10-game winner of the season (with a little help from Vlad, who drove in 4 runs).

MLB Stud, Executive: Billy Beane, who got an extension with the A's that will keep him locked up through 2014, enough time to win a half-dozen more division titles without winning a World Series. He has been (and remains) MLB's gold standard for GMs.

MLB Stud, Team: The... wait a sec, this can't be right... Yankees? Eight straight wins and all of a sudden the mood is much brighter in the Bronx, particularly with the Mets sliding (5 straight losses).

MLB Dud: Elijah Dukes. I'm a day late, but with his latest "episode" (impregnating a 17-year-old girl living as a foster kid with Duke's relatives), Dukes is quickly becoming MLB's biggest crazy. And he's only 22! That puts him on pace to shatter the all-time crazy standard set by legends like Carl Everett and... um, Carl Everett.

All-Star Update: David Ortiz won't be in the Home Run Derby. He's put in his years (and not won), so he's got a very excused absence.

NFL: Are the Jaguars – "my" Jaguars* – the lead suitor for Daunte Culpepper? That doesn't bode well for my favorite Jags player, Byron Leftwich. Actually, Leftwich is my second-favorite player now, after first-round draft pick Reggie "F'ing" Nelson, but that doesn't kick in until the new season starts. (* - Yes: MY Jaguars... less than three months from my one-year anniversary as a Jags fan!)

NFL: Congratulations to 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who will get to wear suits on the sidelines, rather than official Reebok apparel, for all eight home games this season.

I always appreciated Reebok's interest in getting a return on their massive investment to have the NFL apparel rights, but it was ludicrous to suggest that coaches couldn't wear suits on the sidelines, particularly for a league constantly trying to button-up its image.

My only question: Isn't it uncomfortable? Why would you want to, when you can wear something a little more loose-fitting? The Jags' Jack Del Rio will also wear suits at home games.

(Follow-up question: Will the initiative to have fans wear suits and ties to the home opener go on? It was created as a protest to Nolan NOT getting to wear a suit. Does this let fans off the hook?)

NBA Trades: Try not to be overwhelmed by the deal to send Juwon Howard from the Rockets to the Timberwolves for Mike James.

Minor-league baseball gimmicks: "Billy Donovan Night" on June 20, when you get to renegotiate the price and location of your ticket (and even negotiate a buy-out). I love it.

My take? I give the Islanders a lot of credit for at least thinking creatively about how to work with (some would say "use") independent bloggers. It's worth trying.

I could make the easy joke about how the NHL needs to be as innovative as possible about reaching its fans (and diversifying its channels), but this is something that ALL sports should follow closely. (Yes, even the NCAA.)

More NHL: I appreciate that there are hard-core NHL fans in Nashville who will be devastated if the team leaves town, but there is something more... natural... about the idea of an NHL team in Hamilton, Ontario.

Varsity Dad Alert: Welcome Bryce Maximus James, son of LeBron, born at 12:51 this morning at a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces and 21 inches. "Bryce James" has a nice ring to it, but there's no question you have to be LeBron James' son to pull off the middle name "Maximus."

Hot Blogger Bracket: I have advanced through Round 2 of the tournament, holding off a tough challenge from Signal to Noise, 55 percent to 45 percent out of 1,317 votes cast. It's only going to get tougher from here.

Apologies: Yesterday, I should have included a link to the John Hodgman segment on MMA from the Daily Show on Monday night. Here's the link. Hilarious.

I don't know how we can really consider this Spurs team to be a dynasty. There is a huge chunk of time in this nine year period where they weren't even the best team in their conference. The Lakers won 4 conference championships during this "dynasty" and they won three titles in a row. These Spurs don't compare to the Lakers early dynasty in the early 50's the celtics who won 11 of 13 and the bulls who won 6 of eight and probably would have won 7 or 8 of 8 if Michael wasnt forced out of the league because of gambling problems. They have had an incredible decade and are the team of the last ten years but they were not anything close to the other three great dynasties of the sport. There is also the argument dealing with titles in a row but I don't think that is as necessary as dominating your conference and making it to the finals which this team did not come close to doing in those 9 years

Elijah Dukes is flying right past every MLB crazy in history and is going to be the all-time leader soon.

He's a cinch to blow past Shawn Kemp for most out of wedlock kids with different women/girls. And I think he could eventually pass Pacman Jones for most arrests. The guy is ONLY 22, so he has plenty of time to get his name on the police blotter!

Here's a debate....would you rather have a brave's and athletics streak of success with only one and no championships respectively or would you rather have a Marlins like history of winning annd breaking up and winning again. I would take the Marlin's tewo rings if I were the A's over Billy Beane who has only proved to me that he can be over .500 with his moneyball tactics. Alert me when he wins a ship.

Dynasty in sports is any run with multiple championships especially when there is a core group of coaches or players who were consistently there. 4 in 9 years all with Duncan is definitely a dynasty even if there were no repeasts.

I don't understand the whole big fuss of Nolan and Del Rio wearing suits on the sidelines because the suits will be Reebok branded.

I still don't understand how the MLB allows it players to clear the dugout without repercussion (Marlins/Indians). No other league allows this without some form of discipline, and it just looks stupid when a whole bunch of dudes run out on the field and just look at each other stupidly.

cycle...Noah's father was one of the best French tennis players of all time. Then there's the Boones, Mannings, etc. I think you're right, it would be interesting to see athletes have kids with each other...in fact, isn't it a kind of natural selection process?

I never really got why the NFL made coaches wear that garish crap on the sidelines. I am pretty sure that historically other than baseball, with the exception of Connie Mack, coaches in all sports wear suits or something nice. I can't remember when the NFL made the change but was there ever a cooler looking coach than Tom Landry with his houndstooth and fedora.

I have been preaching this all season but the Rays need to cut Dukes and make the outfield be Upton(rf), Crawford(cf), and Young(lf) then you can put Baldelli as the DH to save his bad legs. That would be the best outfield around. Dukes is lucky that that girl is 17 since Florida law makes it not statutory if you are not more than five years older than the girl. Being from the soulside, I have a few friends who work at the Trop and for the Rays and I have heard some seriously fucked up things about that guy. The new ownership in St. Pete is building this team the right way but they have got to get rid of that guy. Give the Rays three more years and they could seriously contend for the AL East. I honestly think they have the most talent of any big league team but they are really young and a cancer like Dukes could ruin what could be contender in the next few years.

you can say that baseball is unathletic but I don't think an athlete like Nomar or anybody that at one time has had great success at shortstop is less athletic than Andre Agassi, and Mia is the best in the history of her sport

I wonder if Nomar and Mia's kid will play soccer or bball. My money is on soccer. Mia though is not the best at her sport top ten yes but not the greatest. Plus if that kid is half as brittle as Nomar it is screwed.

Maybe I'm missing something but... why only at home? Is there a reason I haven't figured out? Do they not want you to out class the home team's coach or something? And why do only Del Rio and Nolan have permission? I understand that maybe others haven't asked, but why do you need permission anyway? Why isn't it a request kind of thing? Like, "Make me a suit to wear." and then they do. If suits are allowed, why do they have to OK each coach to wear one? I'm confused.

The Rays will have Kazmir, Shields, and Price in a few years as their big 3. Then you have a lineup with Baldelli, Upton, Iwamura, Crawford, Young, and Wiggington who is really underrated. They are all locked up for at least three more years. They have the best farm system. All those years of sucking ass have given them some serious talent. They just need to get some pitching for the 6th-8th innings and they will contend. I look at them like the Tigers of last year. They both sucked for years and used the draft to build their farm system. The Tigers came out of nowhere last year and the Rays could easily duplicate that success. The Yankees are old and the Sox are getting up there too. The orioles and the blow jays aren't anything to worry about.

Haven't Nomar's kids already landed on the DL? The Alous are also a crazy sports family that no one has mentioned.

As per the D-Rays. IF they can keep Kazmir, IF Shields can continue to be good, and IF at least 2 of Jeff Niemann, David Price, and Andy Sonnastine (there's another pitcher I'm forgetting as well), can all develop into good pitchers, then I'll believe the D-Rays could be good. The offensive core is there, especially once Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac hit the majors.

But until the D-Rays pitching gets better, and they're not having to trot out 2-3 guys in their rotation with ERA over 6, then they're going to be bottom feeders.

Hey Sheik - The Red Sox are not getting old - Look at 2 of there top 3 pitchers they are both 26, there Closer is 26, They have 2 Pitchers in the Minor Leagues that will be with the Team next year as Starters in Clay Bucholtz and Jon Lester. Coco Crisp will be replaced by a rookie in Jacoby Elsbury by August. Other then Schilling, Varitek and Wakefield this team does not have many players above the age of 34

From Jim Callis of Baseball America re: the Devil Rays, as to why he thinks the D-Rays could win it all in 2010:

Though the Rays are payroll-challenged--a huge handicap in the AL East--they will be able to field a formidable and cost-effective club in 2010. Tampa Bay can build a lineup around Reid Brignac and Evan Longoria in the infield, and Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford and Delmon Young in the outfield. And B.J. Upton should have found a position by then.

Developing pitching always has been problematic for the Rays, but not any longer. Scott Kazmir already is in the big leagues; Jeff Niemann soon will join him and Jacob McGee isn't far behind. Throw in 2007 No. 1 overall pick David Price, and that's four frontline starters.

Cmfost I know you say the Sox aren't that old but they are the second oldest team in baseball with an average age of 31.3. The Mets are tops at 31.4 and the Rays are second to last at 27.1 with the Marlins being last at 26.8. Like Todd's excerpt from BA give the Rays 3 years and they will stand a chance. Plus most of the guys will be playing for a contract that year. I hope I am back in St. Pete by then.

(un)fortunately, the Yankees will always have the $$$ to combat age. They'll simply replace the broken down parts with less broken down parts.

The tennis vs. shortstop argument is something that I won't contribute to because it's so insane for anyone to say that a baseball player is even in the same realm of athletic necessity as a tennis player, unless one is out of their element and have never played tennis.

CM, it's 'Buchholz' and 'Ellsbury' by the way... and they also have a sweet 1B prospect in Lars Anderson, but he's still a ways off. Not to mention Pedroia and Papelbon are also on the younger side, and Youkilis, Beckett and Matsuzaka aren't that old either.

And FWIW, the Yankees have some pretty good young RHP talent in the minors as well. Phil Hughes at the top, but Joba Chamberlain (sp?), Ian Kennedy, and also J Brent Cox are all pretty good prospects. Jose Tabata is also an elite OF prospect, though he's young and a ways off.

The problem for smaller market teams is that with Boras controlling so much of the draft, that it is pretty easy for Boras and the big market teams to take advantage and still draft and sign the best players, as they are demanding more money than small market teams are wanting to give, and there are pretty much no repurcussions for paying bonuses over suggested slot money. So the Red Sox, Yankees, and actually most impressively, the Tigers, have all had very, very good drafts recently since they can afford to draft some of the more elite talent that fell in the draft because smaller market teams were hesitant to give them a ton of money.

Not that anyone cares but has anyone been paying attention to the Gold Cup. The US is dominating. I hope I didn't waste money buying tickets to the final here in Chicago. I know most people on here are not fans of the beautiful game but if you ever get a chance to see a big game with the national team you should go if only to support our country. You might even enjoy yourself. Ole Ole Ole Ole.

It is insane to pretend that all a shortstop does is "scoop and throw" that would be like saying all a tennis player does is run to a ball and hit it with an over sized raquet. oh wait what does a tennis player do again. The amount of skill and coordination required to throw to first base on a double play when a guy is sliding into you at full speed and trying to take you out requires an insane amount of coordination and skill. I'm not saying tennis is easy or doesn't require athleticism but to say that baseball players (especially shortstops) aren't athletic is absurd.

No, what I can't believe is that anyone would say a baseball player's athletic necessity is in the same range as a tennis players. Sure, maybe Nomar was athletic, but not even close to what Agassi was. Also, for every 5 Nomars, there's a Prince Fielder or a Cecil Fielder or a Jim Thome or a David Ortiz or a Mo Vaughn (need I go on?)

I'm not arguing first basemen and Dh's I'm talking about Omar vizquel, jeter, arod, nomar, and then we can go to outfielders like griffey jr or torii hunter. I understand the agility required in tennis but you don't think these guys (the athletic position players in baseball) have the speed power and coordination to pick up tennis. Could a tennis player play baseball at the same level that a baseball player could play tennis?

A tennis player has to be in better cardio-vascular shape than a shortstop. They also need excellent hand-eye coordination.

However I say that baseball requires more hand eye coordination than any other sport - especially for a shortstop.

I would guess that Nomar is in pretty good shape but he really doesn't need to run marathons to get in shape for baseball. I would also guess that most tennis players would be pretty good baseball players and most starting MLB shortstops would be pretty good tennis players. It is tough to compare between sports.

The Sheik's comment about coaches except for baseball made me think. Why do baseball managers and coaches wear the same uniform as their players. It would look ridiculous in football. Then again, maybe all coaches should have to wear a team jersey without pads of course.

I guess with baseball you have the 1st and 3rd base coaches actually on the field so they need to be differentiated from the fielding team? Also I guess it is just tradition from a long time ago when there were more player managers around.

Actually, I think tennis players need more co-ordination and focus than baseball players and I use my own personal experience as evidence of this.

What I'm saying is that you take your average baseball player vs. your average tennis player and put them in some sort of athletic competition and the tennis player wins every time. Perhaps the most athletic baseball players will hold their own.

But it isn't necessary that a baseball player be athletic. However, find me a tennis player who isn't athletic.

Going back to the original question, if betting was available on something like this, I would place much better odds that the child of two of the best tennis players of all time would be a better athlete than the child of the best female soccer player of her generation and a shortstop whose body broke down all the time.

Verbal,Athleticism encompasses several different categories. I agree that tennis probably incorporates a lot of them but it is hard to compare. Categories include dexterity, strength, cardio-vascular conditioning and hand eye coordination. We could probably even break these down further or add a couple of categories but that gets the point across. All athletic competitions rely to various degrees on those different categories.

Obviously something like weight lifting is primarily strength, cycling or running is CV conditioning, golf is hand-eye. Things like tennis, football, soccer, hockey, gymnastics, track and field all rely on more categories.

Verbal, I am still not sure how you "prove" a tennis player is more athletic. I will give you that it is a pretty good all round sport requiring ability in all athletic areas.

Baseball has the single most difficult thing to do in a sport (hitting a fastball). But in general, a lot of other sports are more difficult and require more athleticism. This isn't a knock on baseball.Tennis is a more rigorous and physically demanding sport than baseball. In baseball, you'll bat once every 45 minutes. A shortstop might get 6-7 groundballs hit his way..most of the easy variety. Occasionally make a dive or leaping catch and yes..turn a double play. And how difficult is that, you catch a throw, touch the bag, throw the ball. Having someone running at the bag (not at you) does not make this a difficult feat.In the US, the more physically demanding a sport, the less popular it is ('cept Football, which is alright).

I would think a tennis player would be able to play baseball if he were to take up that game at a young age instead of tennis. Very much about hand-eye coordination. A baseball player being able to take up tennis would be different because there is a dedication level for tennis players that isn't necessarily there in baseball. A tennis player has to push himself individually (with a coach, yes, but no teammates/comaraderie) to a higher level of conditioning. Some of the current baseball players push themselves (Nomar could probably have played tennis - definitely gives his all while he's healthy). ALL tennis players HAVE to push themselves or they'll be swinging a pounder next year.

I wouldn't think that Nomar was a roider. Sucks to be Michael Barrett. At least that damn McDonalds commercial with him and Jermaine Dye is playing every commercial break here in Chicago. I bet he is getting compensated fairly well for that crap.

Can't exactly remember where I read this but someone on the world wide leader said that Big Shot Rob is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Yes he has been on a lot of championship teams and yes he has hit some memorable game wining shots but other than that he isn't all that great. Above average player with a knack for signing with contenders he is but a Hall of Famer? I don't think so. However other than Bill Russell who has more rings than him. Better yet over all sports what player has more than seven championship rings?

Simmons is big into the Horry for the Hall thing I think you probably read it there.

if turning a double play is just catching a ball touching a bag and throwing a ball then hitting a serve in tennis is just throwing a ball up and hitting it with a racket. You wouldn't say that Eric Clapton just strums guitasr strings or that Matt Groening just puts circles and lines on paper so to pretend that a double play is so easy is really not doing it justice

I think it is a regional thing but when I lived in California we would ask for a coke but then again neither of my parents are carpetbaggers. when I lived in the UK they would just call it by its brand name. Same can be said for circumcision. I know in grad school we had the head of our department talk for an hour on how because he was form the midwest and his wife is form the south they had a hard time decided whether or not they should snip their son's dingus mcgee. Europeans like the elephant trunk and I was ridiculed for being different.

On a double play, they don't even have to "touch" the bag; how is that a hard play?! Actually, I recognize that the timing is REALLY important for the DP and the glove-hand transfer while simultaneously "controlling" the bag to throw JUST past a charging/sliding runner is a pretty difficult accomplishment. Even if you CAN do all of that well, you're not making MLB unless you can hit a little as well.

With all of that, tennis still requires much higher fitness and more dedication. As for hand-eye coordination, it is probably a toss up with the best in both sports being equivalent.

OK, so maybe your doubles partner can beat up my middle reliever, or outsprint my 1st baseman.... but that's as far as I'll go. I think Nomar could easily beat up Federer, or even K-Fed, were he up to it.

I heard on the radio that the NHL and its TV partners have exclusive rights to its coverage, so ESPN isn't ABLE to provide full coverage of hockey. Do they show any actual hockey footage? If not, all they can really do is just put up box scores and mention the games.

Well, with baseball you're talking about a ball that is probably being thrown within a certain area, that's being thrown at 90mph... in tennis the ball can be hit to a much larger area, and against a person with a good serve go around 120mph. So I think they're both difficult in their own respects.

I think the compromise here is that singles tennis players are definitely better all around athletes than 1B/DH types, but guys like Carl Crawford, Jose Reyes, and Curtis Granderson are also world class athletes by any measure.

Totally off topic, but I just recieved word from a friend of mine who works for a Philadelphia hospital…he told me that Brian Westbrook just got rushed to the hospital after a pretty bad motorcycle accident…Leg is pretty mangled from what I hear…could be a very bad thing for my Eagles…again, I don’t have verification on this, and I am praying it isn’t true…but it doesn’t look good

Several readers have advised us of rampants rumors that Eagles running back Brian Westbrook has badly injured his leg in a motorcycle accident.

Fear not, Eagles fans. A league source tells us that there was no accident, and that Westbrook is fine.

It's amazing how quickly these things can spread (e.g., Terry Bradshaw is dead) in this age of instantaneous digital information. This time around, we're glad that we checked with someone who knows what's happening before we posted the rumor.

I took this from buster olney's interview with james shields of the rays last weekend:

. The Rays are loaded with so many fast guys. If you were coaching a 4x100-meter relay team, what would the Devil Rays' four-man relay team, and in what order would you run them, and why?

JS: The four guys I would chose are B.J Upton, Elijah Dukes, Rocco Baldelli and Carl Crawford. The reason why I would chose B.J Upton to lead off the relay race is because he has explosive speed from home to first. Once B.J Upton is almost done, Elijah Dukes would come next. Elijah is second in line because he would definitely keep the steady pace that B.J Upton started. Next would come Rocco because when he is in center field he gets unbelievable jumps on balls that not many players in the league can catch.

Last but not least, Carl Crawford would hold down the anchor. I really don't need to explain why; he is the fastest man in baseball.

I just love that he picked an ofay running with them. It is a shame Baldelli messed his knee up playing wiffle ball with his kid brother. He really is a class act.

Connect With Me

Quickish

About This Blog

DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.